


Fireworks

by Rosetylars



Series: Saschanos [3]
Category: Sports RPF, Tennis RPF
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Hopman cup 2019, M/M, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 16:18:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19727251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosetylars/pseuds/Rosetylars
Summary: “Maria looks lovely tonight, but you look better.” Stefanos instantly regretted it, and began looking around desperately for a place he could go to die. Or at least hide until Sascha forgot he existed.“Are you flirting with me, Tsitsipas?” Sascha quirked an eyebrow.Stef hadn’t expected that reaction. “Uh, maybe?” He wanted to hit himself. What happened to faking confidence?“In that case, I think you look pretty good yourself. Maybe.”***Or: Sascha and Stef bond at the Hopman Cup New Year’s gala and enjoy each other’s company... a little too much





	Fireworks

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction! The people and places are real, but the story is not.

The Hopman Cup New Year’s gala was renowned as an exciting event, and Stefanos was really looking forward to attending. It was his first Hopman Cup, and his first trip to Perth. It was a beautiful city, but the heat had definitely caught him off guard; the first day it had been thirty eight degrees Celsius when he’d landed at the airport. 

He was looking forward to the tournament, but even more so to the party. He told himself that the reason was it was his first chance to really mingle with star players like Roger and Serena in a relaxed environment... What he didn’t admit to himself, though, was that the main reason he was excited to attend was he wanted to spend time with Sascha Zverev, who he’d accidentally developed a wild crush on over the last few months. 

It didn’t take him too long to get ready - he’d put on his suit without fuss - but his whole family was invited so he knew it would be a circus for everyone to get dressed and prepared. As a member of teem Greece, he was glad to be attending with Maria Sakkari. She was a familiar face, and a good friend - their mothers had known each other on the women’s tennis tour before they were both born. 

When the whole family was finally ready, Yulia insisted on taking pictures of her children together. They all sighed and groaned - Elizavet just wanted to get going, Paul complained that she was annoying him, and Petros groaned that he was too tired. 

Eventually, not without a fuss, they all managed to make their way to the venue where the glamorous evening would be held. 

***  
Stefanos wasn’t normally one for drinking, but he decided one beer might help him enjoy himself a little. This decision definitely had nothing to do with the way his mouth went dry when he saw Sascha in his suit, leaning against a pole, long and lithe...

On one specific occasion when Stef let his gaze linger a little too long at team Germany’s table, Maria noticed. 

“Just go and talk to him,” she placed an encouraging hand on Stefanos’ arm where it rested on the table.

Stefanos narrowed his eyes defensively, turning to look at her. “What are you talking about?”

She rolled her eyes, exasperated. “You’ve been staring at Sascha all night. It’s sweet, but getting kind of creepy,” she explained calmly. 

Stef opened and closed his mouth. He decided there was no point trying to defend himself if she’d already noticed his situation. “I wouldn’t know what to say,” he admitted. 

“Just be yourself! Ask him if he’s enjoying the party, whether he’s enjoying the city, anything,” she offered. 

He wanted to stay where he was, content with unrequited staring, but he knew she was right. This was his best opportunity to have a normal conversation with Sascha. He gave her a grateful smile and rose from his chair, half consumed beer in his hand. “Wish me luck?” 

She reached up and gave him a friendly pat on the lower back. “Good luck, but you won’t need it. He’s already looked your way a few times,” she winked. 

Stef blushed, thanking Maria again. He remembered learning of the English saying “fake it til you make it,” and decided that it would be a good strategy for this encounter with Sascha. He could at least try to seem calm and collected, right? 

Across the room, Sascha was standing beside Mischa, who was holding his baby son and having an animated conversation with one of the other guests. Sascha wasn’t actively participating in the conversation, just smiling and nodding along with things Mischa said. Stef decided it was now or never, and approached him. 

He made his way through the tables, returning greetings to some players and staff he walked past, but when he was right near Sascha, he managed to trip over the leg of someone’s chair. So calm and collected. 

“Sascha, hey, are you busy?” Stef cringed at himself; his tone of voice had come out a bit too excitedly in his panic. 

Thankfully, Sascha hadn’t seemed to notice, and also looked grateful for someone to talk to. “Oh, Stefanos, hi!” Sascha stepped away from his brother and directed a friendly smile at the other guest, before moving to stand with Stefanos. 

Stef smiled. “Enjoying the party?” 

“Yeah, it’s always good here. The Aussies know how to put on a good event.” Sascha noticed the beer in Stef’s hand. “Actually, I finished my drink before, will you come while I get another one?”

Stef sighed with relief. He hadn’t even needed to use the second question Maria had given him; the conversation was actually progressing on its own. “Sure, let’s go,” Stef agreed. The boys made their way to the bar. 

“You and Maria looked very cosy over there,” Sascha noted. Stef didn’t notice the trace of venom in his voice. 

Stef was surprised. “Oh, she’s a great friend. We’ve known each other for pretty much our whole lives, our mothers were friends too,” he explained. “My sister loves her, think she’s sick of us boys.”

The edge of tension in Sascha’s features dissolved. “Oh, that’s nice then, I thought you were together,” he said. After a moment, he added, “Your love life isn’t really my business anyway, sorry for prying.”

The bartender handed Sascha his glass of beer and the boys started wandering aimlessly around the premises, both glad to be away from the noise and the spotlight for a little while. 

Stef‘s instincts were screaming that he shouldn’t say anything, but he was nothing if not honest. Instead of brushing off Sascha’s statements, he said, “Maria looks lovely tonight, but you look better.” He instantly regretted it, and began looking around desperately for a place he could go to die. Or at least hide until Sascha forgot he existed. 

“Are you flirting with me, Tsitsipas?” Sascha quirked an eyebrow. 

Stef hadn’t expected that reaction. “Uh, maybe?” He wanted to hit himself. What happened to faking confidence? 

“In that case, I think you look pretty good yourself. Maybe.” Sascha chuckled at his own joke. 

Stef couldn’t believe himself. Was this happening? 

***  
The boys ended up finding a quiet balcony, and stepped outside into the warm summer night. The balcony was empty except for a small loveseat facing the view, which they sat down on. 

After what felt like hours chatting and laughing together, the two of them sat close together, knocking knees and shoulders, playfully leaning into one another. 

Stefanos knew that he should be inside with his family and the rest of the party to celebrate the countdown to the new year, but there was nowhere he’d rather be than on this balcony with Sascha, overlooking the beautiful view of the river and the glimmering lights of the Australian football oval. 

“The view is beautiful,” Stef acknowledged. After a few moments, he noticed Sascha staring at him. He looked sideways at Sascha and raised a questioning eyebrow. 

Sascha placed an arm around him. “Don’t worry about the view, you’re more beautiful.”

Stef tried to calm his racing heart with a joke. “That’s so cheesy, Sascha, and so not true.” He couldn’t help the blush and huge grin that painted his face, though. 

Sascha shrugged, then leant in to kiss Stefanos. Stef felt like the world had stopped. Stef was shellshocked to begin with, but Sascha’s tongue traced his lips, encouraging him to open them. Sascha’s mouth was warm and tasted like beer. Sascha reached his arm around Stef to envelop him, pulling their bodies closer together to allow the kiss to deepen. Neither of them was sure how long the kiss lasted; but they both wanted to stay frozen in the moment forever. 

They were jolted back to reality when they heard a loud bang, followed by multiple more. They looked up to see the sky alight with a rainbow of fireworks - it was midnight. 

Sascha laughed in disbelief. “I guess we just had a New Year’s kiss,” he grinned. 

Stefanos couldn’t help but smile back. “Never had one before,” he admitted, “but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this one.”

The boys gave each other dopey grins before they leant into one another to resume what they’d started, all thoughts of the party forgotten, fireworks setting a beautiful backdrop. In that moment it was just the two of them, facing the new year together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Any kudos or comments would be greatly appreciate, comments really make my day! 
> 
> Please feel free to have a look at my other Saschanos fics in the collection. I just love this pairing!


End file.
